The Lost One
by Selenus
Summary: After being saved from drowning in a lake by a couple, an amnesiac Link struggles to remember his origins in a strange new world. His arrival heralds the coming of great and familiar evils from his forgotten past. Can the Hero remember himself enough to fight it, or will this new world be doomed to follow the footsteps of Hyrule?
1. prologue - drowning

**The Lost One**

**DISCLAIMER: **The Legend of Zelda and all related characters, concepts, properties, ect., are copyright Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. All other characters, concepts, and so-forth presented in this story are copyright to me, myself, and I.

prologue - drowning

_Every night in my restless dreams, I see this scene. Like ghosts in the night, they stand at the edge of a cliff. Near the edge of the cliff is a young woman with copper hair. Her hair sways in the wind, while her green eyes stare back into the darkness. In her left hand, she carries a gun, while her right hand carries golden fragments._

_The man staring back at her appears soulless. He, too, carries golden fragments in his hand. Their lips move, but I hear nothing. I watch the golden fragments float away from their hands, reforming into a golden triangle._

_From deep within some distant part of myself, my memory stirs at the sight of the triangle. I look at it with holy reverence._

_The Triforce of Courage... but why did these people have it? What is it doing here, in this distant world?_

_Out of the shadows, a man steps out. He looks at the Triforce with glee, a prize to be won. Their lips move and their faces contort into angry expressions. I will never forget the rage on the girl's face as she opened fire. She misses, and the man in front of the shadow figure charges at her. He knocks her weapon away._

_She retaliates with a flurry of jabs, punches, and kicks. He staggers back, bloodied and beaten by her assault. As she wipes the blood off of her hands, the man crawls towards the Triforce. He places a bloodied hand on it._

_A bolt of energy surges from the holy relic, knocking him away from it as though it were disgusted by his mere presence. This part of my dream always left me so confused. The Triforce was an inanimate object- it could not distinguish right from wrong. Why was it doing this? _

_I look back at the girl. Her eyes look down at him in pity. She was no malice within her. The fire that burned with them reminded me of my own. _

_Before my every eyes, the Triforce shatters into a thousand pieces. The shards swirl in the air, a tornado of magickal energy forming around the cliff. The girl looks on in shock. Her eyes say it all-_

This wasn't supposed to happen...

_The words form on my lips, but I am unable to speak them. I watch in horror as the shards of the Triforce tear through the body of the girl. Her face contorts in pure suffering as the shards melt into her body. She collapses onto the ground. There, she remains motionless while the mark of the sacred triangle burns itself into her skin._

_That is when I hear her wail of agony. It pierces the silence and chills me to the very bone. From out of the darkness, another young man steps out in pursuit of the girl. Only her screams follow her as she plunges off of the cliff into the lake below. Her form vanishes into the darkness of the lake. I wait for her to touch the bottom of the lake, but the end never comes. The darkness fades into light..._

* * *

My eyes snap open. The image of the girl and the battle on the cliff fades away, revealing a bedroom in its place. I wipe the sweat off my face and clutch my chest. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my body. My breathing is heavy, as though I had been running for hours. I shut my eyes and slow my breathing.

When I feel my pulse begin to slow, I open my eyes and step onto the wooden floors of the bedroom that had become my place of residence. It is not my home; I have been staying here for a week now, ever since the couple who owns this house found me in the lake. I walk toward the bathroom and turn the faucet on. The water splashing against my face feels good on my skin. I dry my face off with a nearby handtowel and make my way back to the bedroom.

At the edge of the bed I slept in were my only possessions: a long green cap, a green tunic, a white undersuit, a belt, and a pair of fingerless gauntlets. On the floor at the foot of the bed was a pair of leather boots, the final part of my outfit. As I dress for the day, my mind wanders off in thought about the upcoming day. I make my way downstairs, and see the out on the balcony outside of the kitchen.

I can hear every word of their conversation on the other side of the thick glass door. I try not to eavesdrop on their conversation; whatever business they discussed was between them. I make my way outside and greet the couple. The man looks and me and nods.

"Ah, there you are. Matriona and I were just talking about you not too long ago."

His wife, Matriona, peers at me from over the rim of her glasses. The warmth of her eyes betrays the intensity of her gaze. To those who didn't know her, she may have come off as though she were cold and calculating. As for me... I held nothing but respect for the two who had saved my life. Despite this, I was not above a little banter with them.

"Good things, I hope?" I ask.

Matriona's husband motions for me to join them at the railing of their balcony. I oblige and walk over to the railing with them. I peer out into the lake beyond. My mind flashes back to that night.

* * *

_I'm drowning._

_Nothing but black water surrounds my being. I try to hold my breath, only to find that there was no air in my lungs. My gaze turns towards a silvery light above me._

_I swim towards the surface, seeking escape from my watery prison. I did not wish to die. My hair streams out in front of me, like golden strands flowing in the water. My lungs demand air I cannot give them._

_I try not to think of my impending death. The silvery light grows larger with each breaststroke. My hope grows as my life hangs in the balance._

_The watery prison fades, and as I pierce the surface, I let out a gasp of air. I feel relief pour through my body. Then I feel my body slip back into the water._

No! _I yell at myself, _I will not die here!

_At the heel of those words, I realize something: I have no idea where "here" is. I have never seen this lake before, or the cliffs and mountains that surrounded it. Everything up to this moment feels as though it were a dream I had just awakened from._

_Voices call out in the darkness. As I struggle to keep my head above water, I see a boat make its way towards me. A lifebuoy is thrown towards me. With what little strength I have remaining, I swim toward it and grab ahold of it. Two figures pull me out of the water. I slide onto my back, coughing up water with every breath I try to take._

_The world shifts in and out of focus._

_"Mattie, quick! Get me some blankets!" A man shouts._

_No matter how hard I try, I cannot stop my body from trembling from the cold. I feel blankets being wrapped around me. Engines roar in the night as I am spirited away toward a port. The man moors the boat while the woman waits for him to finish._

_"What is your name?" She asks me._

_I move my head around in the coccoon of blankets to address her. Words form on the tip of my tongue. It seems like such a simple question; everyone has a name, an identity. When I search my memory, I find nothing._

_"I... I don't-"_

_The words feel foreign on my tongue, as if I have never spoken this language before. Before I even begin to see the expression on the woman's face, I pass out._


	2. one - the meditation

**The Lost One**

**DISCLAIMER: **The Legend of Zelda and all related characters, concepts, properties, ect., are copyright Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. All other characters, concepts, and so-forth presented in this story are copyright to me, myself, and I.

i - the meditation

"Can you remember anything? Anything at all?"

I shake my head and continue to stare out into the lake.

"No... as much as I hate to admit this, sir, every time I try to remember something, my mind goes blank."

I try not to let the frustration bleed into my words. I want to remember something, anything of my past. The trees, the wind, the ground beneath my feet... everything is foreign to me. The very air I breathe into my lungs is foreign to me. Only the stars feel comforting to me, given my situation.

For a brief moment, the image of the girl with copper hair manifests in my mind. Despite the years of pain and suffering etched onto her face, her eyes carry a willful conviction in them, a stubborn refuse to quit even in the face of the most trying circumstances. As my mind focuses on her, I cannot help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

Just as quickly as I attempt to grasp her phantom, she fades from my consciousness. The déjà vu persists more than it ever has before, and I am left torn between the phantoms of the girl and the holy Triforce. I instead shift my focus back onto the present.

The wind plays with my bangs and brushes against the tips of my ears. Matriona walks toward me with a concerned look on her face. I can see the questions billowing in her eyes before she even asks them:

_Who are you? What are you?_

"Do you even remember where you come from?"

"Not in the slightest, ma'am. I'm clearly not from anywhere around here, though, if that's what you're implying."

She shakes her head, as if dismayed by her words. When she looks back up at me again, I can almost see the gears spinning in her head. She had some sort of idea- and it involved me somehow.

"Would you be willing to come back to the lake with us? It might... help your memory somehow."

I hold my chin and consider her words. More than anything, I wanted to know my name; everything else would come in time, I'm sure. Not having a name was among the most distressing part of my situation. If there was any chance I could at least find that out, I was willing to take it.

"I don't see why not," I tell her.

Matriona turns toward her husband and the two of them nod. Without another word, the three of us step through sliding glass door. We step towards the door to garage downstairs. There, sitting in the middle of the garage, is the 'car'.

Looking at the glossy red paint, the feeling of déjà vu tears into me again. A part of my mind is in awe of this machine, while another sees it as commonplace and uninteresting. I find myself torn between those conflicting emotions; I had never seen such a thing as this before in my life... have I?

I block out the emotions and focus my attention on our trip instead. I step into the car and brush my fingertips against the leather seating. As I buckled myself in per the couple's instructions, I hear the engines of the car roar to life. As they back out of the driveway and drive off into road beyond, Matriona turns toward me.

"I don't know how to ask you this, but... your ears..." Matriona pauses.

"Hmmm?"

"Were you... born that way?"

I stop and turn toward her. I have never thought much of my ears since arriving here. The differences between us are more than apparent to me; I can see why it would be a concern of hers. My ears are long and pointed, unlike Matriona and her husband's. They stick out a bit, I'll give them that much, but they're not something to get hung up on.

"I don't know. Like I've said before, I don't know who I am or where I come from. For all I know, I could have magically sprung out of that lake."

The explanation seems plausible enough to me. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was skeptical.

"People do not just appear out of thin air. Surely you must have come from somewhere."

I say nothing further. For the rest of the trip, we sit in silence. I watch the forest whirl by, a feeling of nostalgia filling my heart. An eternity later, the car slows to a halt. Matriona's husband shuts the engine down.

"Here we are."

Her husband's voice silences our conversation. We step out of the car. I gaze at my surroundings. The tree of us are standing on a cliff, high above the lake. I walk toward the edge of the cliff and gaze at the water below. Crystal clear water shimmers in the sun, extending far out into the distance. More cliffs line the edges of the lake, like jagged foothills in a crater. I listen to the sounds of the lake.

The lake is murky and dark. I cannot see the bottom. As I stare into its waters, the memory of my rescue intensifies. For a brief moment, I am back in the water, drowning in the darkness.

_Oh this,_ I think to myself,_ we've already been through this a dozen times already._

I groan in frustration.

"This isn't helping."

The couple look at each other and shake their heads. I sit down at the edge of the cliff, my expression filled with disappointment. A hand taps my shoulder. I look up and see Matriona's husband looking down at me with gleam in his eye.

"I have something I would like to try, if you don't mind."

"What would that be?" I ask him.

"Come on, I'll show you."

He motions for me to follow. I follow without a word.

* * *

"Now, I want you to sit like this."

We sit at a secluded point on the cliff, near a garden of rocks. Matriona carries in her hands censers full of incense. Her husband and I sit across from each other, our legs crossed and our feet on our thighs. My palms face up on both sides of my legs.

"I want you to relax and just breathe in... and breathe out..." He says.

After a few minutes, my awareness of the world around me begins to fade. I am no longer meditating at the edge of the lake; I am standing in a fog-filled abyss. Water covers the ground up to my ankles. Eerie white light pulses beneath my feet, like a still beating heart.

Off into the distance, I see a faint golden light. From deep within my soul, I feel something stir within me. I was being summoned. I run toward the light as though possessed.

I gaze at the object with utmost reverence. There was no mistaking it; this was the Triforce of Courage from my dream.

_But what is it doing here?_

My left hand reaches up and touches the holy triangle. Like a set of floodgates opening, I am swept up in a current of memories. When I look around, I find myself standing at the foot of a village. I look up into the mountains beyond, and see a volcano with a halo of clouds around it.

This village... this mountain... I know them. I know them all too well. I was home. I was back in...

"Hyrule..."

_That's right... how could I have forgotten? I am from... Hyrule. I am of Hylian descent. This is the foot of Kakariko Village.. and that is Death Mountain over there..._

Chills run down my spine. Something was not right. Something evil and unnatural lurked in the air. The sky darkens above me.

Screams pierce the air. Phantoms of men, women, and children raced towards me. I brace myself for impact, only to witness them pass through me as though I were air. There was no mistaking it- they were Hylian like me.

Before I could even think, I watch as the mountain beyond blackens. Like a disease, the darkness spread through the earth. For a moment, I too, am terrified of what is happening.

From the darkness, twisted horrors beyond description emerge from the forms of dead people caught in the darkness. The earth beneath my feet groans in agony, as though the very foundation of the land was crumbling apart.

I see an eere white light of a comet pass through the sky. Thousands of lights stream into the comet. Among them, I see her. My eyes widen in shock.

"Zelda...!"

The name escapes my tongue. I hold back my terror at the sight of her as the image of the completed Triforce appears before my eyes. I see my princess, the light of my soul, being drawn into Wisdom. I hear the sound of a demon roaring within Power.

_By the Goddesses... not you, too._

The sight of Ganon pounding at the walls of his new prison within the Triforce of Power sends. A thousand questions fill my mind- questions without any answer. None of this matters as screaming pierces the air- _my_ screaming. I look towards Courage.

I see myself getting drawn within it, a look of horror on my face. As I bang on the walls of my new prison, I witness the entire Triforce get pulled into the light. The world of Hyrule collapses into darkness. Before all fades into nothingness, I hear Zelda's voice call out into the void.

"Link!"

The darkness of Hyrule fades, shifting without warning into a new place. I find myself peering through another's eyes down a city I have never seen before. Cars lie gridlocked on the street, honking loudly into the night. Chills run down my spine as a torrential downpour drowns the city around me. A hand taps my shoulder from behind.

"Mireille, you're not really thinking of going through with this, are you?"

_What is this?_ I ask myself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my reflection in the window. As I watch through another's eyes, I realize something: I am looking through the eyes of the woman from my dream. Whether this is a dream or a vision, I cannot tell.

"If it's too much for you, Darren, then go home. I don't have time for this."

The words that flow out of my mouth- _Mireille's mouth-_ are cold and unfeeling. I feel myself becoming immersed in her emotions, and sensed her pain.

"Are you seriously going to believe what some talking owl told you? Look, the Triforce doesn't exist, and neither does Ganon. We're not getting invaded by some evil corruption from Hyrule. We've all just had one too many hits on the pipe tonight. Can we all just go home and sleep this off?"

I feel her face contort in anger at his words. From out of her drenched coat pocket, she pulls out a large, golden shard. My heart skips a beat at the sight of it in front of their faces.

"Okay... then you **explain** to me what this is, Darren! Explain to me why the phantom of a guy, who totally is not Link, pointed out to us where this shard was, right where that not-talking-owl said it would be!"

The girl is hysterical and barely able to contain her anger at him, at the world, at an evil I knew all too well. In my disembodied state, I can only look on in shock at the scene before me.

"I know what I saw, Darren... and so do you. Because of that son of a bitch, Grandpa's dead. Now, if you don't want to help me put this thing back together, fine. Go home and smoke a few joints without me. I don't care."

"Fine! See if I care! You're a dumb, crazy bitch, you know that!"

The girl shoves the shard back into her pocket and stomps off, the dampness of her clothing and the rain further fueling her anger. The image of Mireille and Darren fades from my conscious without warning as I am painfully pulled back into my new reality. My eyes burst open and I fall backwards. Matriona and her husband look down at me in shock.

"What happened? What did you see within yourself?"

I shake my head and motion for them to leave. I was not ready to speak of what I witnessed in my memories. We end our meditation session in silence and make our way back to the couple's cabin.


	3. two - evil's bane

**The Lost One**

**DISCLAIMER: **The Legend of Zelda and all related characters, concepts, properties, ect., are copyright Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. All other characters, concepts, and so-forth presented in this story are copyright to me, myself, and I.

ii - evil's bane

That night, I stand on the balcony with only the light of the waning moon shining on me. The couple has gone to sleep for the night; for that, I am thankful. I cannot bear to look into their eyes right now. For the first time since discovering my amnesia, I am filled with turmoil. Now more than ever, the starry night sky is my only comfort in this foreign world.

_Have I been a prisoner this whole time?_

I shake my head and shift my thoughts towards Zelda. She would not want to see me like this. Fighting my sorrow, I search deep within myself. A sudden realization grips me.

Hyrule... whatever fate has befallen my homeland, the Triforce still remained. All is not lost. Zelda was out there somewhere. I had to find her. She would know what I need to do from here.

_But where do I start? I don't even know where __**here**__ is._

I hold my chin in thought. Asking the couple so far has left me with more questions than answers in terms of, well, anything. Too focused on searching for my identity perhaps... that, too, I would have to unravel at a later time. I shove the thousands of questions in my mind aside and focus.

An idea forms inside my mind. The couple keep maps within their attic. If I am to begin my journey, I need my bearings. I loathe to do this to the couple that has helped me so, but I have no other option.

I walk toward the sliding glass door. On the other side, I see the figure of Matriona staring at me in the darkness. She opens the door and steps outside.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," I say to her.

"No, you didn't wake me. To be truthful, I have been worried about you all night. I couldn't sleep at all. I got up to check on you and see how you were doing."

The silence between us feels more than awkward. I looked into her eyes, only to see her avert my gaze. Something is on her mind, and she refuses to say what it is. I cannot help but frown at what is going on.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

She turns away from me and walks toward the railing of their balcony. The moon bathes her in a silvery light. Her hair sways in the gentle night breeze. An eternity passes before she speaks again.

"I... I have something to show you. Come with me."

I follow her back into the cabin. We walk down into the basement. She stops in front of an old chest and motions for me to come closer. Without word, Matriona unlocks the chest and exposes its contents.

I am unprepared for what is inside.

A thin layer of dust covers the surface of the shield. I wipe some of it away, restoring some of the splendor of the Triforce bevelled into its surface. I continue to run my hand along the metal, revealing the painted image of a crimson bird. As I pull the shield from out of the chest, I gaze at it with wonder.

This shield... I know this shield. It has been with me on many adventures, been part of many battles. Though its surface bears the scars of those battles, it is like looking at an old friend.

The ornate blue scabbard hiding under the shield rivets my attention. Gold decorations cover the scabbard from top to bottom. The small Triforce near its mouth stands out from all else- that is, until I notice the sword in it. My breath is immediately taken away by the sight of it.

Matriona lets out a gasp as I pull out the sword. There is no mistaking the blade; it, too, is like a dear old friend to me that has been with me through thick and thin. The blade glimmers in the dim light of the basement, eager to be used once more. My eyes trace the Triforce mark engraved on the metal.

"Matriona... where did you find this?"

She struggles to meet my gaze. "We found these items among your things when we rescued you that night. My husband and I did not know what to do... so we put them away here for when the time was right to return these to you. How are you able to lift that sword? My husband could not even budge that thing out of its sheath."

I should be angry at her, but I only feel relief at having my sword and shield returned to me. Now, at least, I can better defend myself for the journey to come.

"You have no idea how grateful I am that you have returned this to me. I don't want to worry you, but your husband should consider himself lucky. Let's just say... that my sword is very finicky about who uses it."

That is an understatement, I realize. The Blade of Evil's Bane is just that; it would never allow just anyone to lay a finger on its surface. To anyone else besides me and a select few, the Master Sword would have either become nothing more than a heavy, useless weight in their arms, or it would have burned them in holy fire. She should be glad her husband was given the former.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure you would understand... I'm not exactly sure what I mean by that myself, to be honest."

I focus my attention back on the chest and its remaining contents. Off in the corner is a corded leather bag, no bigger than the size of my hand. I put the Master Sword back into its scabbard and set it down. When I remove the back from the chest, the deception of its appearance becomes more than apparent to me; though it appeared to have very little inside of it, it's weight was closer to that of a full armament of gear.

"Your bag... was another item we had some difficulty with carrying."

I cannot help by smile at it. How could I have forgotten about _this_? This bag is- was- an adventuring boon to me. I can see why the couple would be confused by it; it isn't often one comes across an enchanted pouch that carries any item inside it, no matter how large or small it may be. Though I want to open the bag and see what items it contains, I decide against it.

_She can't handle the idea of a magical sword. How could she handle the idea of an adventuring pouch enchanted by the powers of the Great Fairies themselves?_

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the final items in the chest. Off into the furthest corner is a black, patent leather purse. It is a large bag, clearly intended for a woman; what this item is doing in my possession, I do not know. The bag is zipped up. Though I feel guilty for opening up a woman's purse like this, I have no other option if I want to figure out who the real owner is.

The bag contains nothing out of the ordinary; lipstick, lip gloss, and other makeup. I reach around and find a thick, leather-bound journal. Pulling the journal out of the purse, I open it up and read the first page. What I read on that sheet of paper shakes me to my very core.

The words on the page read, "Journal of Mireille Deveneaux".

I find myself unable to believe my own eyes. Was Mireille, the copper haired woman from my dreams, really the owner of this purse and its contents? Shaking my head, I sift through the bag some more, and find a wallet. When I open up the wallet, there is no mistaking the picture on the card; the picture is that of the woman that has haunted my sleep since my awakening.

Matriona looks at me with an expression of worry. I shift my focus away from Mireille's belongings; the mystery that is Mireille is only deepening. There were more questions than answers when it came to her.

I decide that it is time to let her in on the truth that I knew all too well; a truth that has been apparent to me since the moment of my arrival. It is my turn to lead her somewhere. Grabbing my possessions, I motion for her to follow me upstairs. We weave our way through the cabin, out the sliding glass door in the kitchen, and back out onto the balcony overlooking the lake.

"Matriona... I'm sorry. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you've done for me. Now, I want you to know something."

Before I can say anything further, the sound of thundering footsteps echoes through the forest around us. I perk my head up, searching for the source of the noise.

"Did you hear that?" I ask.

"I didn't hear a thing. Why do you ask?"

I shake my head, realizing my folly; she is not gifted with the sensitive hearing of a Hylian. In some ways, I feel as though she should be glad she cannot hear what I can. The sound crashes through the air again, and this time, I see Matriona wince in her bathrobe. So she hears that sound as well... that is both a relief _and_ a terrible stroke of luck.

As I peer through the shadowy forest of trees, I see them. Even in the darkness, there is no mistaking the hulking beast rushing toward us with arrows aflame. That is a Moblin. With that realization comes another.

Ganon has found me.


End file.
